After Jaime!

Before Jaime...

Our Little Gardener

The veggies are growing Cooper is on the prowl. Last summer one of our favorite evening activities was picking vegetables (especially tomatoes and cucumbers). The plants are getting big and we've just started harvesting. In this year's garden, we have blackberries, strawberries, various tomatoes and peppers, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and radishes.

Over lunch today, Cooper and I went out and found a big zucchini that we've been overlooking. Here he is with his pride and joy...

Early mornings

As the sun comes up earlier and earlier, it seems the boys' internal clocks are also making adjustments. I got up early this morning to continue some work projects (more on that in a minute), and found Cooper up at 5:45. While we did send him back to bed, that only lasted about 10 minutes. So, we had an early breakfast and spent some father-son time together. While I do wish he would sleep longer, I love the morning with Cooper. He is generally in a great mood and loves to cuddle up.

We continue to search for the balance of work and family. I have a large account in Canada in negotiation so it is all consuming. It seems I could spend every waking hour of the day on work and not be finished. We are making progress, but I know the time spent on work is difficult on the family. Despite the long work hours, we have had great family time in the evenings. Whether it be in the pool, in the garden, or playing 'tackle' in the house, we've had a great time.

Speaking to the title of this post, I hear Miles...

Conference Week

Nate had a conference in FL this past Sunday through Wednesday. The boys and I have had a good* time while Nate has been out, but I am amazed at what happens when Nate is away... (* good = character building.)

We had a bout with the stomach flu on Saturday night before Nate left. Luckily, Nate was still at home to catch the first round of throw up (literally), and the bug lasted less than 12 hours! (Praise the Lord!!)

Cooper got a huge splinter in his hand that he won't let me get near. When I first found it, I asked him if he would let me try to get it out with tweezers. He said, "NO!!" I said, "Okay, we won't try right now." That let to a 10 minute tantrum about not wanting me to get it out. I said I wasn't going to try...I'm so confused. His fit made me want to try because hey - if he's having a fit, I might-as-well get the splinter out, right? Um - no. I couldn't get near his hand. As I type this, it is red and puffy. We're going to wait for Daddy to get home to take a look...

On Monday night, we managed to water the flowers out front right before bed time. I have to admit my fuse was really short that night - I was ready for some alone time. Watering the front maxed me out, so when I went out the back door to turn on the water for the veggie garden, I told Cooper to sit right where he was. I took Miles with me. When I approached the door, I saw Cooper smiling out at me, and the door was locked. I panicked. "Cooper, UNLOCK THE DOOR!" Coop - "What?" Me - "UNLOCK THE DOOR!!" Coop - "I don't know how!" After trying to explain it several times while holding the 25 pound child, I decided to check to see if our hidden key was in its place. So I left the deck, set Miles down. Miles: "Whhhaaaaaaa!!!" I fought the fence to get the gate unlocked. Picked up the crying child. Went to look for the key in the hiding spot. The key is there! My heart slowed down a little bit...but I wasn't 100% sure what this key would unlock. So, back through the gate, set Miles down. Miles: "Whhhaaaaaaa!!!" Fought to get the gate shut and locked. Picked Miles back up. Up on the deck. The key didn't work. So, down off the deck. Set Miles down. Miles: "Whhhaaaaaaa!!!" Fought the fence to get the gate unlocked. Picked up the crying child. Walk through the gate. Set Miles down. Miles: "Whhhaaaaaaa!!!" Fought to get the gate shut and locked. Opened the garage door with the code. Opened the kitchen door with the key. Found Cooper. Relief. We need some serious rules around door locking.

Cooper noticed a couple of cuts on my legs and asked how I hurt my legs. I told him I cut myself shaving. "Girls save their legs and boys shave their faces." Cooper: "I'm going to shave my face! And I'm going to have whiskers!" Me: "You're right! Someday you'll get to shave and you will have whiskers." Cooper: "Can I shave now?" Me: "Well, I think it is going to be several years before you shave. But that is a conversation you can have with Daddy when he gets home. " Cooper: "Okay. I'll have a conversation with Daddy. Can I have the conversation with you?" Me: "Sure. We can have the conversation." Cooper: "Well, we need to wait for Daddy." Me: "Okay. So you want to have the conversation with Daddy?" Cooper: "No! I want to have it with you!" Me: (Very confused) "Okay. Let's have the conversation." Cooper: (Very upset) "No! We need to wait for Daddy!" Me: (Light bulb) "So you want to wait for Daddy to be here to have a conversation with me about shaving?" Cooper: (Satisfied) "Yep!" Conversation Over.

Bed times have been interesting. Cooper seems to get up more after bed when Nate is gone. I think his sensitive little spirit is checking on me because he knows he is the man of the house. Or he knows I'm a sucker. One or the other. So last night, he got up several times. 1. "Mom, I need some warm water! I don't want ice water tonight. It's so cold!" Pour out the water; fill with room temperature water. 2. "Humphrey needs some ice water!" No he doesn't - go to bed. 3. "Mommy, I have to go potty!" Too much room temperature water. Now go to bed. 4. "Mommy, I can't find my room!" What? 5. I'm in bed at this point. I see my door open and a little head pop through. "Mommy?" I gave him the "come here" signal with my hand. His face lit up and he galloped over to my bed. So cute. He crawled in bed with me and we snuggled for a while. That was the ticket - he went straight to sleep.

Since Nate has been gone, Miles learned how to make the repeated grunting sound to tell me what he wants. I will say it is better than screaming, so that is good. He has also starting pointing his whole arm at what he wants. So yesterday at his afternoon nap, he was having a really, really hard time falling asleep. I went in to try to rock him, and he started pointing his arm and grunting at the door. It's amazing what these little ones can communicate!

Back In The Saddle

The weather this Spring has proved to be interesting, but none the less, it's getting warmer and the sun is coming up earlier each day. With Carey's exercise routine and the boys schedule, it's been best for me to workout in the early morning on the trainer. However, 1.5 hours plus in the garage gets old fast.

This morning, however, I reunited with some old riding buddies and went out for a 30-miler before work. In the days before Cooper and Miles, Dale Sargent, John Jones and I logged hours together every week. Of course, that all changed with kids and a more active job. But this morning was great. While a bit short, it was good for hte soul. Great weather, great stories, city limit signs: what could be better? I'm looking forward to the Tuesday Night World Championships next week.

The past few months

As you've all heard, most people who've been around say life happens fast. As I write, it feels like it should be March, but it's nearing June. So much has happened in the last few months. We've captured some things in prior entries, but here are some recent highlights and short stories in no particular order.

Miles can stand up by himself, not holding on to anything. He doesn’t last long, but his balance is coming.

When Cooper goes to the bathroom, he asks us for privacy. Sometimes, when we tell him we need to go to the restroom, he says "Okay dad, I'll take you. But dad, be careful: make sure all your potty goes in the toilet. Call out for me if you need me. I'll give you some privacy." He must have heard that somewhere. Keeping with the bathroom-like topic, Cooper tooted the other day and when Carey said, "Cooper, was that you?" He responded by saying, no, it was dad.

Given the extended weekend and nice weather on Friday night, Cooper and I went camping - in the back yard. However, we only made it until around 10pm.

Lately, Cooper has been running around the house saying 'Shoot the enemies! Shoot the enemies!' The first time we heard this Carey and I were quite surprised. So, I asked where he learned about shooting. He gave me a look like I was asking the dumbest question ever and said - 'Shooting School'. For the record, our two-year-old son has never been to Shooting School.

Cooper has been helping me in the garden this spring. We've spent much time planting and weeding. Our radishes and strawberries (June-bearing) will be the first fruits. As we were finishing up one night, Cooper was looking at some of the smaller, green strawberries. He said "Hi sweet little baby strawberries." I think he would have just snuggled them right up if I would have let him.

About a month or so ago, I assembled a new swing set for the boys. I say assembled, but I think it took me about 24 hours of actual work effort. I’m not sure I fully understood the full impact of ‘some assembly required’. Regardless, it’s done. However, we had a land-based hurricane come through and had winds over 100 miles per hour. We didn’t have much damage, but our swing set was torn apart in the backyard. Carey tried to talk me into ordering replacement parts, but I’d pretend I’m handy and replace the broken pieces on my own. About two weeks, the boys have their swing set back.

Miles sees Carey and says ‘Mama’. Very cute…unless he’s yelling it.

Carey and I need a long weekend away, so we are planning a trip, sans kids, in Banff, Canada. Good friends of ours in Bolivar have been there and many people I work with in Canada love to visit Banff, so it’s great to learn about a new mountain destination (thanks Dinwiddees!).

In addition to the meds / injections Carey is taking for the MS diagnosis, we started a new diet to aide in treatment. The diet is incredibly restrictive – no milk, wheat, yeast, sugar, caffeine, very limited fruits/nuts, no red meat, etc. We’ve been at it for a few months and hate it. =)

Miles turns one year old Thursday. Son, I can’t believe how fast the time has gone!

With the Spring weather (or something…), Cooper has decided to go to bed late and get up around 6AM. He quietly walks, three babies, a blanket, and a few cars / trains in hand and says ‘Dad, I’m a awake!’ One morning, we woke up and thought we heard him, but couldn’t see him. It turns out he was in on the floor, laying on the pillow shams. Such a cute kid.

Travel – the second quarter has turned out to be a busy one. I’ve been in LA, Chicago, Toronto, Portland, Dallas, and several other cities (and many of them more than once) in the past few weeks. While I don’t mind the travel, it’s being away from Carey and the boys that make it hard.

While there are moments when Cooper gets frustrated with Miles (especially since Miles is nearly stronger and can take things away…), he is so tender towards his little brother. He is constantly looking out for him, sharing his snacks, cars, tells us when miles is getting in to trouble, etc. If Miles is crying, it’s not uncommon to hear Cooper say ‘It’s okay baby Miles, don’t cry’.

Miles' Mess

Miles loves to eat. Here he is enjoying his food:

Our "Hurricane"

We had a big storm roll through on Friday morning. I have heard talk around town that it was an "inland hurricane." Here are a few photos from around town:


(The girl was in this car when the tree fell on it!)






Our only casualty was our swing-set. We are thankful for God's protective hand on us and our home!

The Boys

Cooper has said a couple of cute things this past week that I want to pass along:

On Tuesday, I told him our friend, Robin, was coming over. He said, "She's so sweet. I could eat her up - like an M&M."

Then, on Wednesday morning, we were making breakfast and Cooper said, "Mom, you're my best friend."

Wednesday night, Cooper had a really hard time going to sleep. He snuck in my room about 5 times before I was asleep and two more times throughout the night before he finally was awake around 6:00. His answer was the same every time he came in... Me: "Cooper - what do you need?" Cooper: "I came in to snuggle with you." It's pretty hard to be frustrated with that.

Tonight in the bathtub, Cooper was pouring a cup of water of Miles to help wash the soap off. He said, "This is just like how Jesus washed our sins away!" That's some cool stuff right there...

Miles continues to communicate with short, high-pitched yells. Wow - does it hurt my hears. He has expanded his vocabulary some, though. And the first word is (drum-roll please) "Uh Oh!" Does that count as a first word when it is really just a combination of grunts? I'm not sure if it counts, but it certainly is cute.